Saturday, November 09, 2013

Hello and welcome to issue
#1345 of Edi's Weekend Wave.
As promised on October 12, I'm back. The past four weeks have been really busy. Don't worry, I will not bother you with details.
Looking back I must say it was good to have a break. But it is also good to be back in the world of books and blogs.
The remaining weeks until the end of 2013 will show if I will be able to to deliver input which satisfy me.
First an foremost blogging about books should be fun and pleasure. It is a passionate hobby for me.

ENJOY READING ....

Edi's Guidepost

The
Lighthouse
News and information straight from
the horse's mouth by
Lighthouse keeper ediFanoB

Dear readers, I'm the one to tell you
about books - only books?
What about novellas and other
stuff? My name is Bona.
I scour shelves, shops
and the net for books. If you call
me a book whore I
would not gainsay you. But be aware I
have my own, sometimes elusive
taste.

New books on my shelf/reader or when one book leads to another
Of course I bought books and copied digital copies for free in the past four weeks. It would go beyond the scope of this post to present them all at once.

Today arrived my paperback copy of
Sherlock Holmes: The Will of Dead Men(November 2013) [Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1781160015] by George Mann

"A young man named Peter Maugram appears at the front door of Sherlock
Holmes and Dr Watson’s Baker Street lodgings. Maugram’s uncle is dead
and his will has disappeared, leaving the man afraid that he will be
left penniless. Holmes agrees to take the case and he and Watson dig
deep into the murky past of this complex family.

A brand-new Sherlock Holmes novel from the acclaimed author of the Newbury & Hobbes series." [Source]

There is no information about the year. Therefore I do not know if the
author follows the time line from the original stories or not.
The description sounds like a " normal" Holmes case.
I hope it will be as good as Sherlock Holmes: The Stuff of Nightmares (August 2013) [Paperback ISBN-13: 978-1781165416] by James Lovegrove which I red a while ago.

Several days a week I scan the lists of free digital books over at Amazon.de and once a while I discover books which sound interesting. As they are free I download a copy and have a look. Today I show you my latest discovery. It is a series of three books set in Victorian England around 1896 and starring the detectives Furnivall and Stubbs.

The first book tells the story of Amelia Dyer, one of the most profilic baby farm murderer.

"When a parcel containing
a dead baby is pulled from the Thames, detectives Furnivall and Stubbs
are sent to deal with the matter. They investigate at breakneck speed-
it is 1896, after all, and they have all the advantages of the modern
world to help them. Using microscopes, the rail network and the
telegraph, they identify the culprits- a Mrs Dyer and her daughter,
Polly. Even as they close in, Mrs Dyer has been back to Caversham Lock
with another victim. By the time the two women are arrested there are
seven little bodies in the mortuary at Reading. Each has Mrs Dyer’s
trademark white dressmaker’s tape around its neck.

The case
doesn't work out as planned, however, and they're forced to travel to
the west country. Despite being under strict orders to return to
Reading, they set an ambush on the Clifton Suspension Bridge. But a
storm is rolling in, and there is another man in Bristol – a man from
the Home Office sent to clean up his superiors’ mistakes." [Source]

"When a young woman is found dead on an allotment early one morning,
Furnivall and Stubbs are summoned to the scene. She is lying on her
back, fully dressed in undamaged clothes, and yet somehow she has bled
to death. A monster has come to stay in a slightly run- down suburb in a
small town at the heart of Queen Victoria’s Empire. The investigation
will take them into the world of hard- headed criminal business as well
as to the heart of one man’s madness." [Source]

Caversham House (digital, 2013)[AMAZON ASIN: B00G4DSL9O] by Michael Stewart Conway is the third book in the series.

"Furnivall and Stubbs have better things to do when Sir Balfour
Campbell's painting goes missing- especially since Sir Balfour admits
the picture is essentially worthless. But Reggie Maltby, the cook's son,
is also missing and a familiar face turns up somewhere he shouldn't be.
Then a body turns up, and the painting is not what it appeared to be
and it seems Stubbs will have to swallow his distaste and spend some
time in Paris. And Mr Furnivall will have to learn to fly." [Source]

I tried to get more information about the author but I failed. Therefore I also do not know whether there will be more books starring or not.

For Time Travel Lovers
I like to read time travel stories and now there is a book which should appeal time travel fans. Since today I own a digital copy of edited by Ann and Jeff VanderMeer

"THE TIME TRAVELER'S
ALMANAC is the largest, most definitive collection of time travel
stories ever assembled. Gathered into one volume by intrepid chrononauts
and world-renowned anthologists Ann and Jeff VanderMeer, here is over a
century's worth of literary travels into past and the future. The
anthology covers millions of years of Earth’s history - from the age of
the dinosaurs to strange and fascinating futures, through to the end of
Time itself. The Time Traveler’s Almanac will reacquaint readers with
beloved classics and introduce them to thrilling contemporary examples
of the time travel genre.

A gift from Tor.comThere are still some weeks to go until Christmas. But Tor/Forge.com surprised owner of digital readers with an early gift.
Get a free digital copy of Some Of The Best From Torm.com, 2013 Editition

"A collection of some of the best original short fiction published on
Tor.com in 2012. Includes stories by Dale Bailey, Leigh Bardugo, Cory
Doctorow, Charles Stross, and Genevieve Valentine.
At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied." [Amazon product description]

Maybe you have read some of these stories before. I think it is nice to have them all collected at one place.

No more today, see you next week ......

Blogosphere

Hey,
I'm Bona Fide. I just
came back from my last foray through the
blogosphere. What can you
expect from me? I tell you: Everything
from Art to Fart as long as there
is any faint connection to books. And
here is some honey from the
beehive blogosphere...

SF/F/H Lists
What does this mean? Abbreviations are legion. In this case it is an abbreviation and at the same time the header of a page over at Dragons, Heroes and Wizards, the blog of Mulluane. She started to sample SFF blogs and websites. It is a work in progress and I find it useful.
I recommend to visit SF/F/H Lists and maybe you have something to add. Input is highly welcomed by Mulluane.

Engineering London Underground
2013 marks the 150th anniversary of the famous London Underground. There is an excellent video which gives you an overview of the remarkable work done in the past 150 years.

Jules Verne and his house

What do you know about the townhouse at No. 44 boulevard Longueville in Amiens, France? I admit that I did not know it until I read the following interesting and excellent post over at Voyages Extraordinaires:

Don't worry. The post is in English. I was not aware that hsi house reflects so much of Jules Verne books.

Siege Ladders
Who waste time to think about siege ladders? Things like this are getting interesting and important when it comes to historical fiction and fantasy. When I read about siege ladders the image of the battle of Helm's Deep pops up immediately in my mind. If you would like to get more information about castles and siege ladders then I recommend to visit Egnlish Historical Fiction Authors and to read

The Completist
Once a while I talk about about other blogs and sites. Today I want to share with you a feature over at SF Signal. There you find the column Completist edited by Rob H Bedford. I think the author itself is the best source to explain the purpose and the content of the column:
"SFF readers can be cautious when it comes to reading series novels.
While a fair amount of us like to read the series books as they publish,
a corresponding percentage of readers wish to wait until a series is
published in full before diving head into what they hope to be an
immersive experience. That and the wait between volumes can lead to
reader frustration and/or forgetting some of the events of the previous
novel.
I’ve read a lot of Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror over the
years and my aim with this feature is to examine those SFFH series which
have concluded. In short, all books of the series are available to be
read in some format, electronic or print, but ideally both." [Source]
The latest edition is about the series by Greg Keyes. I own all the books but never read them.
Have a look at

MoviesHey, it's me Fide.
I'm a remote control professional.
I'm that fast that I can
watch two movies at the same time.

But don't worry. All the stuff I
present to you will be shown
at normal speed.

I'm pretty sure that everyone who is interested in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug watched the latest trailer.

Since November 2012 I'm interested in sewing which is connected with my growing interest in Steampunk and The Victorian area. While searching videos and trailers for this post I found some really enjoying sewing videos which I must share with you.
If you live in US and you are old enough you may know the daily TV show teaching women how to sew called “Sew What’s New” from 1972 until 1994 starring George W. Trippon.

"George designed and made woman's clothing for the Hollywood studios,
before and after WWII. He had a design school in Hollywood called The
Trippon School of Design. His TV show, "Sew What's New", was made and
aired over a period of about 20 years, starting in 1970. He wrote and
published two books in conjunction with the show: "Becoming a Dress
Designer: What Every Designer Should Know", and "Let's Design, Cut, Sew,
and Fit With George W. Trippon". Both books are rare and difficult to
find.
His partner James died in 2006. They were together for 64 years
-- He wrote a book about their life together called "Ode to Jimmie".
He also wrote a book about his childhood called "Pidgeon Hill" both are
available from Amazon.
George pass New Years Day 2010. RIP George we love you and thanks for being you!" [Source]

I admire his sewing skills and I must say I learned a lot from these three videos. There are more George W. Trippon videos available on YouTube. Now have a look at this charming and entertaining man and his sewing machine.
Sew What's New with George W. Trippon- Making pants part 1 of 3

Sew What's New with George W. Trippon- making pants part 2 of 3

Sew What's New with George W. Trippon- making pants part 3 of 3

That's all for today. See you next
time....

QuotesI
'm the Keeper of
the minutes. But I don't mind when
you call me Kotm. No, no. I
don't explain to you how to pronounce.

The older I get the more critical I get when it comes to the question to finish a book or not. In most cases I decide after 50 pages if I like a book or not. There is one exception. If I get a trustworthy recommendation that it takes some more pages until a book reveals its real reading pleasure then I skip my rule. Following quote fits perfectly to my rule ...